Greetings and Happy New Year. What better way to kick off the brand new year than to reach into the mailbag and see what’s been on your mind lately. So without further delay, here’s our first question…
Can you talk about spiritual gifts and how to tell which one(s) I have?
To answer this question let’s first start off by defining just what a spiritual gift is. So what exactly is a spiritual gift? Well, a spiritual gift is the special empowering of God’s Holy Spirit that works in and through a Christian to honor God. In other words, the Spirit of God gives talents and abilities (or “gifts”) to Christians that…
- Build us up in the faith
- Help us in talking about Jesus to others
- Help us serve Christ’s body, the church
- Glorify God
When we think of spiritual gifts, it’s sometimes easy to think only of those gifts that are really eye-catching like miraculous healings. But the truth is that there are lots of spiritual gifts. You can find listings of the various spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-13 and Romans 12:6-8. Included in these lists are the gifts of…
- Knowledge
- Wisdom
- Faith
- Miracles
- Prophecy (or the ability to give God’s direction regarding a particular situation or future event)
- Discerning of spirits (or the ability to determine the motivation behind someone’s actions)
- The gifts of evangelism, teaching, and pastoral ministry
- Serving
- Encouragement
- Giving
- Leadership
- Mercy
So how do you know what spiritual gifts God has given you? Well, the first thing to do is to ask God in prayer. James 1:5 says, “If you want to know what God wants you to do, ask him, and he will gladly tell you, for he is always ready to give a bountiful supply of wisdom to all who ask him; he will not resent it.” The next thing you could do is to simply ask, “what things do I do well?” or, “what talents, skills or abilities do I have?”
For example, are you a “take charge” kind of person? Then perhaps you have the gift of leadership. Do other people seem to come to you when they are feeling down? Then maybe God has given you the gift of mercy or encouragement. Do you like to work “behind the scenes” to get things done? Then you may have the give of “helps” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28.
Are you good at directing activities and managing things? If so, then perhaps you have the gift of administration, also mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28. Are you generous with your time and resources? Then you might have the gift of giving. These are just a few examples to get you started- check out the lists in 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, Ephesians 4:11-13 and Romans 12:6-8 for many more.
Now perhaps you are saying, “God hasn’t given me any gifts- I don’t know how to do anything.” If that’s the case, then you should definitely check out Ephesians 4:7 which tells us, “…Christ has given each of us special abilities– whatever he wants us to have out of his rich storehouse of gifts” (emphasis added). You see, every Christian definitely has one or more gifts from God. You just have to find out what they are. So the question is not if you have a spiritual gift; the question is what spiritual gift(s) has God given you?
This is very important because there is no one who can fulfill those responsibilities that God has called you to. You are unique and there’s no one else who can go where you can go, reach where you can reach and do what you can do. The truth is that each day represents an opportunity to do something good (or minister) for God and using those spiritual gifts that God has given you will definitely help you take advantage of those opportunities that God sends your way. God has a purpose for you to fulfill and He has equipped you with the gifts that you need to carry out His plans.
Finally, The Doctor thinks that it would be good to ask this question of your parents, Pastor or Youth Pastor and get their input. Those people who know you personally can often give you valuable advice on this subject and The Doctor encourages you to seek them out.
Is meditation OK?
Well, the answer to that question depends a lot on what you mean by “meditation.” You should understand that there is a big difference between the Christian definition of “meditation” and the New Age/Eastern religion idea of meditation. The Christian’s definition of meditation means to think, consider and reflect on the subject of God and His Word. This kind of meditation is clearly encouraged by Scriptures such as Psalm 1:1-2…
Philippians 4:8 also has something to say about the right idea of meditation….
Unfortunately, the New Age/Eastern religion idea of meditation usually involves “emptying” one’s mind to achieve some physical response or altered state of consciousness. This is very different from the type of meditation that the Bible approves of. Rather than emptying our minds, we should seek to fill them with the knowledge of God and His Word.
Do you have a question for The Doctor? Just send it to the email address above- you’ll get a personal reply and you just might see it answered here.